Hutchinson in line for Owls return

Dom Howson, Multimedia Sports Reporter

Sam Hutchinson is in contention to start against Wolves Wolverhampton Wanderers after shaking off a back problem.

The midfielder, who has already served two suspensions after collecting 11 bookings this season, was a notable absentee in Wednesday's midweek defeat at relegation-threatened MK Dons.

Sam Hutchinson

But Owls head coach Carlos Carvalhal has today confirmed Hutchinson will be in his thoughts for Sunday's clash against Wolves, who lost 3-2 at home to Wolves last night.

However, the Championship club are still sweating over the fitness of centre-half Michael Turner, who was troubled in the second half at the Dons by a knee problem.

Speaking at his press briefing today, Carvalhal said: "Sam is training but we will wait until the last minute with Michael.

"We are not sure if all the players will recover or not.

"We will have 11 players who are fit and ready to run and fight for the three points. Even if Michael or Sam can't play, we have solutions and have absolute confidence in our squad that they will do very well."

Carvalhal is looking forward to their festive home double-header. Wednesday have not lost in their own backyard since August.

"We are happy to be back at Hillsborough," he said. "We like to play with our fans. We love our environment and that is the most important thing.

"Wolves will be a very tough game but with the connection we have at Hillsborough, it is a tough game for our opponents.

"We want a fast and strong reaction after the last game and I'm sure the answer on the pitch, with the support of our fans, will be fantastic."

The Portuguese chief, who refused to shed any light on Glenn Roeder's departure from Wednesday's committee, is unconcerned by their recent slump in form. The Owls have slipped to ninth in the table, having triumphed just once in their last seven Championship outings.

"We are together," Carvalhal stressed. "We lost on Tuesday but the team is not broken. We finished the game on the up.

"We had chances to make it 2-2 and fought until the last second. It means we are together

"In this competition, you have some accidents. We have not had too many. We had Charlton and we had MK Dons. These things happen with all the teams. When we lose, it is important that we bounce back and come back strongly to win the next matches.

"But we are together, we are strong. Nothing is decided in December, nothing is decided in January, it is where we are in May that counts.